16th April 2007

Dear Sir,

John Lloyd (Financial Times, 14 April 2007) claims that the Muslim Council of Britain 'has deep roots in an Islamist ideology that wishes to promote shariah law and punish apostates' without actually taking the effort to provide any evidence to try and substantiate this bizarre allegation.

The MCB is the UK's largest and most diverse Muslim umbrella body with over 500 affiliated organisations throughout the country from different schools of thought and ethnic backgrounds and is committed to working within the democratic framework and within the law. There is simply no question of introducing Shariah law in the UK or punishing apostates.

Lloyd then trumpets the fact that the government is now 'promoting dialogue with genuine and democratic moderates, who probably represent the majority of Muslims': yet who exactly are these Muslims and what are there democratic qualifications? Once again, John Lloyd does not seem to think it necessary to explain this.

As it happens, the MCB's entire leadership is democratically elected every two years by its affiliates. Perhaps, Mr Lloyd would like to take some time to compare this with his favoured alternatives?

Yours faithfully,
Mr Inayat Bunglawala,
Assistant Secretary-General,
The Muslim Council of Britain
PO Box 57330,
London
E1 2WJ